Twelve students collapsed during school hours in Juba, and now every school in South Sudan has been told to close.
The order took effect on Friday, February 21, 2025, and runs for two weeks. It followed a high-level meeting in the capital on Thursday, chaired by Josephine Joseph Lagu, the Vice President for the Service Cluster. Officials from the health, environment and education ministries briefed her on what the heatwave was doing.
“Extreme heat can be deadly”
Environment and Forestry Minister Josephine Napwon Cosmos warned that temperatures this week could reach 39 to 42 degrees Celsius, or 102 to 108 Fahrenheit, and possibly more. Schools stay closed until conditions improve, she said, and reopening could slip to the second week of March depending on the weather. Government offices will also work half days for the next two weeks. “Extreme heat can be deadly, particularly for children,” she said.
For parents the closure means children at home and a scramble for childcare, but the health ministry’s advice was plain. Acting Health Minister Ayaa Benjamin Warille asked families to keep children indoors and everyone to stay out of the sun at the hottest hours. “Drink plenty of water and don’t wait until you’re thirsty to hydrate,” she said.
Not the first time
South Sudan has done this before. Last March schools closed for a similar stretch when temperatures went above 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 Fahrenheit. Heatwaves are common in the country, but readings rarely climb past that mark.
The young nation is highly exposed to climate shocks, and years of civil conflict, plus repeated droughts and floods, have already worn down living conditions.
Sources
- South Sudan closes schools as heatwave intensifies – Radio Tamazuj
- South Sudan Closes Schools As Heatwave Worsens – African Culture TV
